Adolescence

2:47AM, 04-01-25 A brilliant watch for tonight. “Adolescence” is a standout mini-series, with a chilling performance from Owen Cooper and a devastating one from Stephen Graham. “Adolescence” was unsuspecting at first glance to me: the tale of a young teen who’s been accused of murder, akin to the 2020 “Defending Jacob” which I’d watched some years ago. Suffice to say I didn’t expect much of a deviation: perhaps Jamie was always disturbing, and the murder of Katie Leonard was the final straw conclusive to a series of incidents his father Eddie never took notice of. However, this series went another, more compelling route: Jamie was a murderer who acted upon his hostile mindset toward women. Rather than a murderer who just finally succumbed to a deranged constitution, Jamie had internalized the misogynistic thoughts about women from others online. “Adolescence” could have played this story out horribly. But thankfully it didn’t—instead, it demonstrates  the harmful effects of the so-called “manosphere” and “incel” ideology in a deeply realistic manner.  Outstanding qualities of this series to me include: 1. The emphasis on Jamie’s age.The first time I rationalized just how young Jamie is was when he took his fingerprints, and he didn’t understand what a “ring finger” was. Jamie is 13 years old—he hasn’t experienced enough of his life to pick up on the connection between the ring finger and marriage. The emphasis is devastating because he is that young, but is so deep into hateful, misogynistic spaces—and already acting upon his antagonistic view of women, what with refusing to speak to his mom and sister on phone call from prison. Anyone, at any age, is susceptible. 2. The role of women.Adding onto the last one: the role of women in this series is so, so secondary. His mother is an afterthought (if a thought at all) to Jamie; D.S. Frank is repeatedly disregarded and “shooed” off by D.I. Bascombe; Psychologist Briony Ariston is subjected to the arrogant meddling of a male security guard; Eddie voices his rage by throwing paint and threatening others, while Manda and Lisa have to rein him back in time and time again. Mostly, it’s unintentional, and sometimes it’s intentional (ahem, Jamie) but the matter remains: women are pushed to the side, and men are allowed to do so without strong complaint. It’s subtle, but the tone for the series is set up from the moment Manda is an emotional wreck when Jamie is arrested, whereas Eddie condenses his emotion for later, remaining still under pressure. I am reminded of a quote by Ursula K. Le Guin, “But I didn't and still don't like making a cult of women's knowledge, […] women's deep irrational wisdom, women's instinctive knowledge […] why should women keep talking baby talk while men get to grow up? Why should women feel blindly while men get to think?“ 3. The view of other “incel” men.The 4th episode drove it all home for me. I was creeped out by the Wainsworth worker Quint, who vocalized his unnerving sentiment for Jamie—with bright, shining eyes, as though giving support to an idol or “hERo” of the Incel community. Specifically, how Quint suggests to crowdfund, because the Millers would get a lot of support for Jamie. Eddie understands the gravity of his son’s murder, so to be confronted by devoted praise for it is harrowing—as well as that Quint is not the only one. When Eddie curses out Quint later, I feel as though it’s not because of his inappropriate support, but rather that he sees what kind of person his son was shaping up to be in the form of Quint, and what groups he was interacting with online unbeknownst to him and Manda.  Overall, “Adolescence” was riveting at every turn (not to mention the 1-shot-take of every episode wow-ed the socks off me!), delivering a masterpiece of a 4-episode tale. For that we say, thank you! Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham, and Philip Barantini👦